Breathe; let go; relax; forgive. _ Mary Anne Radmacher

My Little Set of Miracles…..

For about three weeks, I’d been planning my big 25. If you know me well enough, you’ll know I literally tell it on the mountain when my birthday is around the corner! And as much as I solicit for presents and all, that’s usually all jokes. The gifts have nothing to do with it. I think the last time I got a ‘proper’ birthday gift wrapped and all was when I was 6, 7 or something…..And this time it was no different…well maybe it was a little…it was the awesome 25…a quarter a century…that’s…well, different.

Anyhow so I came up with this idea, that I would not travel back to Kampala for my birthday, like I did last year, but would stay upcountry and celebrate with the friends I have here…who are quite few by the way. Besides, the journey really tires me, and I did want to be away from the big city for a while… Before that thought settled…I got another idea; to have my Kampala friends come over! Now that one was not just an idea….when I told them about it, they didn’t care about how costly it would be, or what schedules they had planned for that weekend, or where they were going to sleep…it was like a done deal already! < —- Miracle 1

And so the planning started. The days went by so fast, I actually started to freak out! I’m sort of used to my solitude when I’m here that having a full house was scary but exciting at the same time…I mean there’s three of us living in this house, two guys and me, but we rarely see each other. I never know who’s around and who isn’t…that’s how serious it is. We pretty much see each other at work and that’s it. Having more people meant so much from, where is everyone going to sleep,,,will I manage to make everybody breakfast the next day,,,,oh, I have just 3 cups and 2 plates in the house,,,what should I buy them to eat,,what will they like anyway,,,,will or will I not cook for them,,,,will they enjoy their stay here,,,,many things..Somehow I managed to get sleeping bags from one of my friends here…her family runs a tours and travel business, so technically, they should have given me these bags at a fee, but they didn’t…..< —- Miracle 2

One of my biggest worries was water, Mbale water is so unstable that we got used to the idea of having no running water on the weekends…so we have to store up plenty during the week…now to me that is not a problem, I have enough jerrycans and whatever….but this was going to be a full house of about 10 people…the last thing I needed was for someone to have half a shower because we had to somehow find a way of sharing the water…..anyhow so on Tuesday, 3 days before my guests were to arrive, the water ‘went’….don’t ask me where it went, just know it went. And this is when I started praying….each time I said my morning or bed time prayers, I’d tell God, “by the way Mr. God, I need water for the weekend…”

The days continued to go by…Tuesday went by..Wednesday…..Thursday…..and each morning I reminded God what I really wanted…and my prayer went something like, “Really God, I don’t need this water for me. Alone, I’m just fine, Peter will keep fetching for me like he usually does, and I don’t mind..but I want my guests to be comfortable…for someone to be able to have a shower when they want to and not be limited by the fact that the water was not enough…I want them to enjoy their stay over…” Peter is our house keeper….the kindest old man I ever met. And every morning or night or whenever the water ‘comes back’ *it usually flows in the tap outside the house but not in the house* he fills our vessels, jerrycans, buckets….saucepans too and whatever so we’re usually ok. As much as I had faith each morning when I left the house, that the water would be back when I got back, I still left my jerrycans with Peter to fill….so yes, I was also being practical..

Anyhow, Friday morning same thing…gave Mr. God my reminder, gave Peter my cans and left the house for work…..now I was starting to really worry because my people were coming the next day, worry isn’t the word actually…panic is. Thought about it pretty much the whole time at work, even when I left as I walked through the town, my mind was so far….”water far”…. So I walk into the house with a million things on my mind…..when I turned the tap, I had 99 problems but water was not one of them!!!!! It was back! I couldn’t help but scream….happy was an understatement! Mr. Man up in heaven heard me all week, and came through just before I gave up! < —– Miracle 3

Well, by Saturday morning it was gone again, but I wasn’t as sad as I was before because we’d tried to save up quite a bit and yeah….we were pretty much sorted and the old man Peter promised to stick around the whole weekend,,,which doesn’t happen a lot….but he offered to; just in case my guests or I needed anything. < —– Miracle 4

I was so worried about how everyone was going to travel…..I actually wished I had a van to bring everyone at once…together. Yeah, they were that “many”….anyhow I knew from the day before that the guys, had managed to get tickets for the same bus…it was the girls I was worried about most, but turned out they did get tickets for the exact bus time! This should be “miracle 5”…but not yet….when the bus left Kampala, I was told everyone was on, except two of them! The bus had “left” them. My heart sunk a bit because I had actually been reminding these particular two all week to make sure they wake up on time. I can be tough like that some times. So I started thinking about how much later they would arrive and how tired they would be….bla bla…

Four hours later, my people had arrived! I was already at the bus office of course and literally did a hug roll call at the door! Yes, I was that glad. I knew there were two people missing so as soon as I saw the ones I was sure of, we got moving……and right there behind the bus as we walked to the restaurant for lunch, I don’t even know how they got there…my two ‘lost sheep’ smiling away while I tried to compose myself to avoid a near heart attack! They actually hadn’t missed the bus and it was all just a prank! I thought there were not going to be any surprises for the weekend…but I’d just got me one! Everyone managed to get on the same bus…friends and strangers alike! < ——- Miracle 5

It was going to be a good weekend! This was all the proof I needed!

Coincidentally, I read somewhere, during the same week – “God is not concerned with the length or volumes of our prayers but with the depth, faith and sincerity.” <<<< All I wanted was water in the house…that was all, just water. And he gave it to me.

So I say, HE is there and HE is real and HE listens and HE’LL definitely supply all our needs according to his riches!